Gridley GURNEY; Maryland Immigrant; Baltimore City, Maryland Contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by John Gurney Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/md/baltimorecity/ ******************************************************************************* Gridley Gurney Maryland Immigrant Gridley Gurney, born 24 April 1794 in Abington, Plymouth County, Massachusetts, was the son of Thomas and Mary (Polly) Gurney nee House.1 Gridley, a sixth generation native of Massachusetts,2 had maternal and paternal ancestry deeply rooted in early Massachusetts.3 His forebears were both Puritans and Separatists (Pilgrims). Gridley's paternal ancestry is of particular interest. He was descended through his paternal grandfather, Benoni Gurney, from the following Massachusetts families: Isaac ALLERTON, Mayflower Compact signer, BENSON, PERKINS, MAVERICK, TAYLOR, WOODMAN and other surnames yet to be determined.4 His MAVERICK ancestry includes the marriage of Mary GYE to Rev. John MAVERICK (28 Oct. 1600) in England. Mary Gye was descended from many European royal lines5. Through his paternal grandmother, Caroline Wilk(e)s , Gridley was descended from the following Massachusetts families: EAMES, GALLOP, JOY, LANE, LOW(E), STODDER, WILK(E)S and other surnames yet to be determined6. Some members of these families were early settlers of Hingham, Massachusetts and played significant roles in early Boston and the history of Massachusetts.7 Through his mother Mary Gurney nee HOUSE, he was descended through the following Massachusetts families: George SOULE, passenger aboard the Mayflower, PETERSON, BARSTOW, PINSON, NICHOLS, HAMMOND, HOBART, RANDALL, WHITE, JOSLIN, PAYNE and other surnames yet to be determined. Whether Gridley ever knew how splendid his ancestry was is uncertain. It is known that his daughter, Mary A. Tolley nee Gurney of White Stone, Lancaster County, Virginia, showed an interest in her ancestry. This is based on a genealogical query she never mailed to a Thomas Gurney who had written to her nephew Thomas Gurney of Berkly, Virginia in Sept. 1904. In this letter she mentions that her father, Gridley Gurney, "used to speak of his people often . . . "8 Gridley served in the Massachusetts Volunteer Militia during the War of 1812 as a private, 2nd. Regiment as a musician. On June 11, 1814, his company was raised at Hingham. He served at Cohasset and Boston, Mass. Records for back pay owed him are at the National Archives in Washington, D.C. He states that in an affidavit, "wages due me from the state for two months services at Cohasset from June 15 to Aug. 17, 1814."9 He married (1) Caroline Gannett(1792-1863) on 15 Apr. 1813.10 The record in Hanover MA Vital Records reads "Mr. Gredle Gurnely of Hanover m. Miss Carline Gannett of Hingham." He may have divorced or just headed South.11 "Gridley Gurney from Boston, drifted to the State of Maryland" 12 between 1814 and 1820.13 Gridley is listed as a member of a fraternal group of War of 1812 veterans in Baltimore known as the "Artillerists" in 182014. Gridley married (2) Mary Griffin, daughter of Nathan and Sally Griffin nee Simmons, in Dorchester County in 1823.15 Nathan served as a Private in the Revolutionary War from Maryland and is buried in Cambridge, Dorchester County, Maryland.16 He was listed in the 1830, 1840, 1850 Federal Censuses of Baltimore City, Maryland.17 He was listed as a shoemaker until 1850, then as a music teacher in Baltimore City. 18Gridley and his wife, Mary, are found in several Dorchester County, Maryland records related to the disposition of Nathan Griffin, his father-in-law's estate in 1838. Gridley was quite likely an acquaintance of Albion Robbins, sea captain/mariner, who owned land on Fleet's Island, Lancaster County, Virginia. They lived close to each other in Baltimore City for several years. 19 This may account for the marriages between Gridley's descendants (Mary Gurney, Ann Virginia Gurney and John Thomas Gurney Sr.) and the Georges of Fleet's Island, Lancaster County, Virginia.20 His last home in the Baltimore City Directories (1851) was the "Canals of Lombard"(near Lombard Street)21. After this time he probably lived with his daughter Sallie Billings nee Gurney and son-in-law Edward C. Billings in Baltimore City until his death in April 1857.22 Gridley died intestate, his wife Mary serving as Administratrix, on 2_ April 1857 in Baltimore (?)23. He is buried at Mt. Olivet Cemetery, 2930 Frederick Ave, Baltimore City, Maryland in the family plot of his son-in-law Edward C. Billings, Section "A" Lot 199, N 1/2. 24 His 3rd great grandson, John Thomas Gurney III, 25requested and obtained a bronze grave marker from the Office of Veteran's Affairs, Washington, D.C. in 1994. This marker was requested on the 200th anniversary of Gridley's birth and placed on his grave in the April 1995 thus ending 138 years of anonymity. Gridley and Mary Griffin had four living children:26 Thomas, Nathan Griffin, Mary Ann, & Sarah (Sallie). Thomas m. Ann Eliza Corkran; Nathan G. m.1 Margaret Seipler; m.2 Adeline Frampton; Mary Ann m. John Alexander Tolley and moved to Lancaster Co. VA and Sarah m. Edward Billings. Descendants of these lines currently reside in the Baltimore area, Maryland, Virginia and elsewhere27 For further information concerning descendants or ancestry of Gridley Gurney, contact the compiler at the address below or Jean Gurney Rigler, 2117 Puualii Place, Honolulu, HI 96822 (808) 955-1009. (Compiled by: [Gridley>Thomas>Hardyson>John Thomas>John Thomas Jr.]------ > John Thomas Gurney III, Fellow, Anne Arundel Genealogical Society, 8497 Isles Court, Cedarwood Cove, Pasadena, MD 21122-4812 (410) 255-4546 - Jan. 1998) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- References 1 Mass Vital Record, Birth, 1794 (Abington, Plymouth, Co. Mass.) 2 Mass Vital Record, 1850 Census of Maryland, Balto City, Ward ____ 3. Jean Gurney Rigler, The Gurney Family From Aaron To Zuinglius A Genealogical Dictionary (Honolulu,1994) 4 Mass Genealogies 5 Frederick Lewis Weis, Ancestral Roots of Sixty Colonists who came to New England between 1623 and 1650 The Lineage of Alfred the Great, Charlemagne, Malcolm of Scotland, Robert the Strong, and Some of Their Descendants Sixth Edition With Additions and Corrections by Walter Lee Sheppard, Jr., Assisted by David Faris, Gen. Pub. Co., Balto. 1988) 6 George Lincoln, History of the Town of Hingham, Massachusetts, 1893. 7 Mass. Genealogies. 8 Family Letter A - A letter written by Mary A. Tolley nee Gurney in her own handwriting dated Sept. 7, 1904, found by Eula Harper Chilton, June 2, 1963, among the belongings of said Mary A. Tolley. Notarized Sept. 28, 1963 in Lancaster Co. VA by Irma Burke, Notary Public. 9 Miltary Records, Nat'l Archives, Wash. DC 10 Mass Vital Records 11 Rigler, The Gurney Family, 12 Family letter A, ditto 13 Md. Artillerists, Md. State Archives, Record No.________ 14 Md. State Archives 15 Dor. Co.Md. Marriage Records, MSA 16 Bounty Land, etc. Nat'l Archives, Wash. DC 17 National Archives, Wash. DC 18 Balto. City Directories 19 ibid. 20 Mary Gurney m. Harrison George; John Thomas Gurney m. Willie Duceile George. 21 Balto City Directory 22 Md. State Archives 23 Md. State Archives 24 (With the exception of Gridley's marker, there are no tombstones on this lot. Records in the cemetery office show 10 individuals interred in the plot including Bradley[sic] Gurney.) 25 Rigler, 26 Family letter A, 1850 Census of Balto. City, Ward 27 Rigler,